Sri Lanka expels two foreign NGO workers

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 July 2010, 02:40 GMT]Sri Lankan government has deported a Canadian national who functioned as the director of the Nonviolent Peaceforce organization, and a Pakistani national attached to the same non-governmental organization. According to the local Lankadeepa newspaper, the decision to deport the director was taken subsequent to an order issued by the military intelligence to the Immigration and Emigration department in Sri Lanka. Colombo cancelled the visas before deporting the two NGO staffers.

Lankadeepa named the Nonviolent Peaceforce Director as T. Easthome, and the senior staffer as Ali Ahamed.

Accordingly, steps have been taken to ensure that both the Canadian and Pakistani nationals will not be able to return to Sri Lanka again in future for any matter.

Nonviolent Peaceforce is an unarmed, professional civilian peacekeeping force that is invited to work in conflict zones worldwide. With international headquarters in Brussels, Nonviolent Peaceforce has worked in the conflict areas of Sri Lanka extensively. Among other activities, it works with local groups to foster dialogue among parties in conflict, provide a proactive presence and safe spaces for civilians, and develop local capacity to prevent violence. Its staff includes veterans of conflict zones and experienced peacekeepers.